Post your Poster

When I started blogging in August 2011, all I did was select a template and start typing. It was quick, easy, and done: CALL ME INSPIRED

I wrote here and there for about 8 years, never updating my template or fonts or styles or colors…you get the idea.

Then, I launched my non-profit quilt business, Quilt 2 End ALZ, Inc., in January 2019, and I had a rude awakening that I was wayyyyy behind the times!

My niece, Clara, is a very talented graphic designer!

AND, she volunteered to help me create our Q2EA blog…which required designing a website…which needed mission and vision statements, branding characteristics, slogans, tag lines, logos, color palettes, landing pages, gallery style portfolio pages, a storefront, product pages, products, product photos, descriptions, stock photos, static content, content photos, an Instagram account, a Facebook profile, Ninja forms, email clients, newsletter subscription capabilities, multiple platform integration, SEO modifiers, CSS code variants,…

WHAT!?!?!?!?!

I had no idea!

Thank heavens for my sweet Clara Belle who was soooooooo (not enough o’s for this moment!) patient with me throughout that arduous process! Even when I questioned, denied, and pushed back to what she promised we needed, she never quit loving her crazy aunt, and now our little business to connect quilters with the fight to end Alzheimer’s disease has the most beautiful online presence, which praise the Lord, Clara continues to manage and maintain on a daily basis. You should definitely check it out as well as her professional graphic design business, c.w. creative!

Once I realized some of the things that should go into branding, I was chomping at the bit to update and revitalize my personal blog and website here at Me & Coach. Again, I relied quite heavily upon Clara, but I was determined to learn how to do more by myself.

That’s when Clara introduced me to Canva.

Canva is a free graphic design application that you can access on a phone or tablet (available through your App Store) as well as on their website: www.Canva.com

I love it because it is virtually fool proof!

This morning, I received an email from Canva encouraging everyone to help #stopthespread by making a poster to post on social media. You know, like a ripple effect: I post a poster for my sphere to see, and you post a poster for your sphere to see, and the more of us who do that, the more people are reminded of this vital message.

Canva has created a series of templates to get you started, so don’t worry that you won’t know what to put on your poster. You just pick a set of graphics/facts that are most important to you, play with fonts and colors and layouts, and then save your design. Here is mine:

When I say it’s super fun and easy, I am not over-exaggerating!

Anyone and everyone can have fun playing with the app, which is why I wanted to share this long, babbling post…

For all of my friends and family who are helping kiddos do their schoolwork at home, I think this could be a very fun project! It’s a great lesson on what is going on in our world right now, how to protect ourselves against COVID-19 exposure, and what we can do to promote the steps that keep others safe and healthy, too. Best of all, after they perfect their #stopthespread poster and admire it prominently posted on your social media platforms, they now have a cool, new tool in their wheelhouse for future posters, projects, and presentations.

I hope you’ll tag me when you post your poster – I can’t wait to see what everyone creates!

With love and hugs,

Ashli